Culture and identity

• Ethnicity is the ethnic group or groups that people identify with or feel they belong to. Ethnic groups are not mutually exclusive, because people can and do identify with more than one ethnicity. Where people do identify with more than one ethnicity, they may identify more strongly with one ethnicity than another, but this cannot be assumed. People may also change their sole or main ethnic identity over time
• People who identify with more than one ethnicity are included in each ethnic group, so totals sum to more than 100 per cent
• Note when comparing trends that the time series is irregular for the last three Censuses is irregular (seven years between 2006-13, five years between 2013-2018) This is because the 2011 Census was cancelled after the Canterbury earthquake on 22 February 2011.

• From the 2018 Census, Canterbury has a higher percentage of people who identify as European than New Zealand as a whole, and a smaller percentage of people who identify as Māori, Pacific, Asian, or Middle Eastern, Latin American and African (MELAA) than New Zealand as a whole
• The number of people who identify as Māori Pacific or Middle Eastern, Latin American or African is increasing at a faster rate in Canterbury than in New Zealand as a whole.

• Christchurch City has the most ethnically diverse population in Canterbury, but the proportion of Christchurch’s population that identifies as European (82% in Census 2018) is still significantly higher than in New Zealand as a whole (70%)
• Kaikōura district has the highest percentage of people who identify as Māori (18%)
• Ashburton district has the highest percentage of people who identify as Pacific (3.4%)
• Christchurch City has the highest percentage of people who identify as Asian (15%) and Middle Eastern, Latin American or African (1%)
• Per cent change in ethnic identities between censuses needs to be seen in relation to population growth across the region. Between 2006 and 2013, for example, the number of people usually resident in the rapidly growing Selwyn district increased by 36% for Europeans, 28% for Māori, 95% for Pacific Peoples, 182% for Asians and 103% for Middle Eastern, Latin American and African
• A rapid increase in ethnic diversity is most evident in the Waimakariri, Mackenzie, and Selwyn districts. For example, the number of people in Mackenzie district who identify as Middle Eastern, Latin American or African increased by 329% between 2013 and 2018 – from just nine people to 69 people.

• Māori and Pacific populations in Canterbury have a markedly younger age structure than the total population, due to higher birth rates
• Largely because of immigration, people who identify as Asian or as Middle Eastern, Latin American or African also have a younger age structure than those who identify as European, but without the higher proportions of children aged 5-14 years.

• The proportion of the population that identifies as European or Other (including ‘New Zealander’) is projected to decline in Canterbury, from 88% in 2013 to 84% in 2023, while the proportions of the population that identify as Māori, Asian and/or Pacific are projected to increase
• It is important to note that these ethnic populations are not mutually exclusive because people can and do identify with more than one ethnicity. People who identify with more than one ethnicity have been included in each ethnic population
• The fastest average annual percentage change in ethnic identities in Canterbury will be Asian (6.2%) and Pacific (4.3%), followed by Māori (3.4%) – all will increase faster than the national rate.

Download data and charts on ethnic population projections (worksheets 8-9).

• 54,819 people – 8.2% of New Zealand’s total population who reported Māori descent – affiliated with Ngāi Tahu, compared with 49,185 in 2006 and 39,180 in 2001
• Of those affiliating with Ngāi Tahu in 2013, 46.1% (25,296 people) were male and 53.9% (29,523 people) were female
• Just over 50,000 people living in Canterbury stated in Census 2013 that they are of Māori descent. Of these, 15,370 (one-third) affiliated with Ngāi Tahu
• Within Christchurch City, 32,900 people stated Māori descent in 2013, over a third of whom (9,400) affiliated with Ngāi Tahu
• The median age of total people affiliating with Ngāi Tahu was 25.5 years
• 66.4% identified Ngāi Tahu as their sole iwi affiliation; 33.6% were also affiliated with other iwi
• Between 2001 and 2006, the number of people affiliating with Ngāi Tahu in the Census increased by 26% in New Zealand as whole, and by 24% in Canterbury. By comparison, the number of people identifying ethnically as Māori, and/or reporting Māori descent increased by 7% in New Zealand and 16% in Canterbury
• The rate of increase in Ngāi Tahu affiliation between 2006 and 2013 slowed to 12% in Canterbury and in New Zealand as a whole. For New Zealand, this was still significantly higher than the increase in people identifying ethnically as Māori and/or reporting Māori descent. For Canterbury, the 12% increase in Ngāi Tahu affiliation between 2006 and 2013 was lower than the increase in people identifying ethnically as Māori (14%) and/or reporting Māori descent (16%).

• 64.8% of people affiliating with Ngāi Tahu lived in main urban areas
• 45.5% were living in the North Island and 54.3% in the South Island
• 28.0% (15,375 people) were living in the Canterbury region. The second and third most common regions were the Auckland region (12.0% or 6,600 people) and Wellington region (10.2% or 5,565 people)
• The number of people affiliating with Ngāi Tahu has increased in Christchurch city from 7,185 in 2001 to 9,408 in 2013, but the percentage of total people affiliating with Ngāi Tahu who live in Christchurch city is declining – from 18.3% in 2001 to 17.2% in 2013
• 1,341 people stated they were living overseas five years ago.

• 82.7% of people affiliating with Ngāi Tahu lived in households containing only one family, 6.7% lived in households with more than one family, 6.3% lived in one-person households and 4.3% lived in ‘non-family multi-person households’, such as a flatting situation
• 59.7% lived in a couple with child(ren) family, 21.6% lived in a one-parent family and 18.7% lived in a couple without children family.

• 11.2% of people affiliating with Ngāi Tahu stated that they could hold a conversation about everyday things in te reo Māori, compared with 18.4% of the total population of Māori descent
• In 2006, the figure was 11.7% (20.0% for the total population of Māori descent), and in 2001, 12.6% (21.1% for the total population of Māori descent)
• 43% who could hold a conversation about everyday things in te reo Māori were male and 57.0% were female.

• 77.0% held a formal qualification; 23.0% held no formal qualification, compared with 28.5% in 2006
• 49.0% of people aged 65 years and over had no formal qualification, compared with 20.1% aged 15-29 years and 20.7% of those aged 30-64 years
• 72.5% living in main urban areas were in the labour force, compared with 68.4% of the total population of Māori descent and 67.1% of the total New Zealand population
• The most common occupational group(s) for men was technicians and trade workers, while for women the most common occupational group(s) was professionals
• The median income was $27,500, compared with $23,700 for the total population of Māori descent and $28,500 for the total New Zealand population. The median income has increased from $23,400 in 2006
• The median income was $35,900 for men and $23,000 for women.

• The number of people living in New Zealand who were born overseas has continued to climb – 1.27 million people were born overseas (27.4%) of the total stated in Census 2018
• The percentage of overseas born is lower in Canterbury – 23.4% of total people stated
• Within Canterbury, the proportion of people who are overseas born ranged from 13.5% in Timaru district to 27% in Christchurch city in Census 2013
• In 2018, the most common birthplace for people living in Canterbury but born overseas was Asia (37%), followed by the UK and Ireland (28%), and Australia (17%). In the 2013 Census, the most common birthplace for people living in Canterbury was the UK and Ireland (37%). 66% of people born in Asia have been usually resident in the Canterbury region for less than ten years.
• Just under half (48%) of overseas-born people in Canterbury had been living in New Zealand for less than ten years. Half of these were born in Asia. 27% of overseas-born people in Canterbury have been living in New Zealand for 20 or more years and 25% living in New Zealand for 10-19 years, at the time of the 2018 Census. The majority of these were born in the UK and Ireland.